


bury me till i confess (i can't get you out of my head)

by wingsoutforshin (7daysoftorture)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Oblivious Liam, Oblivious Theo Raeken, Theo Raeken Has Feelings, Theo Raeken is Liam Dunbar's Anchor, he's also bad at feelings, they're both idiots let's admit it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-23 16:41:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18553687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7daysoftorture/pseuds/wingsoutforshin
Summary: "Change of plans," Mason says, patting him on the leg. "Now starting, Operation: find out who Theo's secretly in love with and use it as blackmail if he ever tries to go back to his old roots of murdering and manipulating people.""This is a terrible idea."Mason smiles. "You'll be fine. What's he gonna do? Kill you out of embarrassment?"or the one where Theo is Liam's anchor, Liam really should've kept his mouth shut about that, and Theo seems to be in love with some mysterious person (despite Stiles' insistence that he's actually a sociopath)





	1. wait, what?

**Author's Note:**

> i ended up posting both chapters on the same day so the previous notes were pointless lmao

Liam has known Theo is his anchor for a while. He doesn't know when it happened, hell, he doesn't even know  _how_  it happened, because it sure wasn't on purpose. But the thing is, Theo calms him down - his steady heartbeat, his scent, his long warm fingers pressed against Liam's arms, holding him still, giving him back control.

Something about him helps Liam keep his fangs back, his claws in, and it's a little crazy because he never dreamt this would happen when he first brought Theo back from the skinwalkers. He'd said,  _he's my responsibility_ , but he never thought it'd grow into this. He thought he'd use Theo in the fight, and then maybe keep an eye on him to make sure he wasn't going around killing anyone, but he didn't even consider the fact that fighting together would change things, would make Liam dependent on him.

It's a weakness, he knows, but the thought of Theo figuring it out and using it against him doesn't even occur to him until he tells Mason about it and he brings up that possibility.

"You think he'd do that?" Liam asks, fiddling with the strings of his hoodie.

Mason shrugs. "I mean, it's Theo."

"Right." Liam looks down at his hands, pulling on one of the strings to try and even their length. "Then I definitely can't let him find out."

"Have you told Scott?"

He looks at Mason. "No." He hadn't even thought about it. "Should I?"

Mason raises both eyebrows. "I think that's some pretty important information he'd like to know about."

Liam looks down again, frowning. Of course Mason's right. If Scott knows then at least he'll have the forewarning if Theo ever finds out about it and tries to use it against the pack. Liam still can't imagine how he would do such a thing, it's not like Theo being his anchor has really changed Liam's memories of what happened, he'd have a hard time manipulating him again even if he wanted to, which Liam honestly doubts he does considering everything that's happened since he came back.

The last time he saw Theo he'd been eating a hotdog in a park bench, head tilted back like a lazy cat and sun shining down on his face. He'd looked pretty harmless, and Liam thinks it wasn't just the sun blurring out the edges of his face that made him think that. Whatever it is that happened to Theo after he got pulled in by his sister left a mark. He's quieter, somehow, less sharp. Liam doesn't know what it means for sure, but he thinks they don't have to worry about him going on a murder spree any time soon. He might be the only one to take comfort in it, but he admits that the fact that his anchor probably won't try to kill any members of his pack again takes a big weight off his shoulders.

His anchor standards have dropped pretty low since Hayden left.

***

"Theo's what?"

"My anchor," Liam repeats, fingers tangled between his knees, nervously rubbing together. "He's my anchor."

"How did  _that_  happen?" Stiles asks, his eyes bugging out. Scott nods along, his eyebrows so far up his forehead they're almost on his hairline.

"Well, stuff happened? He calms me down even thought he's always pissing me off. I don't know." Liam shrugs helplessly. "It just happened."

"Is it because he smells nice?" Stiles asks, leaning forward on his chair and almost tipping over and taking his laptop with him. He disappears from the screen for a moment and then comes back. "I'm good."

"What do you mean, he smells nice?" Scott asks, apparently deciding to pretend Stiles didn't just almost knock himself out on his own desk. "Theo smells nice?"

Stiles waves his hands around. "I don't know! I haven't been sniffing him! You should know about it better than me, you're the one with a werewolf nose." He makes a face. "Liam said he smelled nice when we saw him in the woods."

"Well, he might smell nice...I never really thought about it. He just smells like...Theo," Scott says to himself, brow furrowed in thought, at the same time as Liam says, "I mean, yes, he smells nice. Or at least his soap does." He shakes his head. "But that's beside the point. He isn't my anchor because he smells nice, Stiles."

Stiles crosses his arms over his chest, curling his lip in one of his characteristic expressions of skepticism. "Then what possible reason is there for him to be your anchor?" He snaps his fingers. "Scott, back me up here, dude. You see how weird this is too, right?"

Scott winces, looking apologetic. "It is a bit weird."

And yeah, Liam knows how strange it must seem from someone else's point of view. If he puts himself in their shoes, he can imagine how it would seem like this new attachment Liam seems to have to Theo - a pretty big attachment - came out of nowhere, and while his feelings on the matter aren't as negative as the rest of the pack's seem to be, he still needs to try and appease them somehow, so he says, "I know it's weird, but there's not much I can do about it. Just- Mason said I should tell you because if Theo found out he could use it against us or something." He looks away. "Though I doubt he would. He's been kinda...friendlier, lately. I mean, he's still an asshole but he hasn't tried to kill anyone."

Stiles snorts. "I guess that  _can_  be considered 'friendlier' if we're talking about him." He runs a hand through his hair. "So? What do you want to do about this, Scott? Can we find Liam another anchor? Can he change it by will?"

Scott grimaces. "I don't think he can, no." He looks down. "The way I see it, Liam, you must trust Theo in some way. Somehow, during the time you guys were together since he got back, he's managed to make you feel...safe around him."

Liam immediately scoffs, feeling his heart picking up speed. "What, no. There's no way that's true. I mean, it's true I don't think he's very likely to hurt us anytime soon but it's a pretty big leap from that to trust, Scott." His leg shakes from the anxiety suddenly squeezing at his chest. "He almost made me kill you," he says, "and then he  _killed_  you himself," his voice cracks embarrassingly. "There's no way I trust him. Right?"

Scott scratches his chin, looking sympathetic. "Hey, it's okay. You clearly didn't choose for this to happen." He sighs. "Just make sure he doesn't find out and you should be fine."

Stiles nods, slapping both hands against something. Liam guesses his thighs. "Yes! And soon you'll see this thing will go away and we can find you a different anchor."

Liam lets out a shaky breath and nods, wiping his hands down on his jeans.

 _Sure,_ he thinks,  _easy enough._

Or at least it would be, if not for the part where he's pretty sure he  _doesn't_  want to find another anchor.

 

 

***

 

 

Liam's a little embarrassed to admit that when he gets an almost incomprehensible panicked text from Theo at 11 p.m., saying something along the lines of,  _deaysf ag ghe hischool djskhgkvbommmmm_ , instead of calling Mason or Corey like he should've, he puts on his shoes, grabs his old bike from the garage, and pedals all the way to the school in under ten minutes.

He sprints across the lacrosse field, listening for Theo's heartbeat and lets out a string of curses when he hears none, his heart racing with worry and fear. He's about to pull his phone out of his pocket to finally call someone when a hand springs up from the ground and pulls him under.

He lets out a chocked yelp, his claws coming out to try and grab at the grass, and then he's falling into what seems like a large hole that can't possibly have been there five seconds ago, because he's sure he'd been standing on solid ground.

He lands on his face, coughing up dirt, and he's so gonna punch whatever it is that did this to him, because he's not into getting buried alive at all. He's fallen into enough holes in this lifetime, thank you very much.

"Nice to see you."

He looks up, startled, and finds Theo staring down at him with an amused look on his face. His hair is a mess, swept in all directions, and his face and clothes are smudged with dirt. Despite all of that, he's still the best sight Liam's laid eyes on today, and he feels relief hit him like a wave, something unknotting deep in his chest. He lets out a quiet breath through his nose and pushes himself up off the ground.

They have enough room to stand, strangely enough, and when he looks around he sees that the hole looks almost like a...dirt version of a house. There's a cupboard(?) made with dried mud, and a blank wooden picture frame placed on top of it. He thinks the large rock on the corner of the hole is supposed to be a table of some sort, not big enough for a human, but definitely big enough for some smaller creature, and there's even what he can only assume is a bed not far behind Theo. There's also no opening, just dirt and more dirt all around them, like he didn't just fall through a giant hole on the ground.

"What was that thing?"

"A dwarf," Theo says slowly. "I texted you about it."

"No," Liam tells him, trying to dust off his jeans to no avail. His mom is gonna kill him if he ruins another pair. "You texted me gibberish that I deciphered to mean something was happening at the school."

Theo scowls. "I was a bit busy being buried alive, be glad I managed to text anything at all." He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, making it stick up even more than it did before. "So, where's the rest of your pack?"

Liam pauses and looks away, heat spreading up his cheeks. "Uh, I didn't tell anyone about it."

Theo sends him an incredulous look. "What? You came alone?"

"I mean, the text you sent made it seem like you were getting murdered or something, I didn't exactly have time to stop and think about calling for backup," he says defensively.

Theo stares at him for a moment, an odd look on his face, and then sighs. "There's no signal down here, so we're on our own."

Liam pulls his phone out of his pocket and checks that yes, they're too deep into the ground to catch any. He grunts and slips it back in. "What are we gonna do? We can't just dig our way up, can we?"

Theo glances at the line of dirt above them and wrinkles his nose. "Not unless you want to risk dying suffocated." He looks around them, lips pursed in thought. There's a smudge of dirt on his cheek that covers his mole, and Liam suddenly wants to reach forward and wipe it away with an intensity that leaves him digging his nails into the palms of his hands to stop himself. He might be going crazy. (And he'd so been hoping to finish high school with the same level of sanity he started it.) "Maybe we just...need to wait for it to get back."

Theo might be going crazy as well, it seems.

"Wait for it?"

"Dwarfs are known to be friendly. There must be a reason why it pulled us down here."

"Yeah, to kill us and eat our remains!"

"They don't eat human flesh," Theo says with a sigh.

"Yeah, I'm completely reassured by that," Liam says dryly.

"Do  _you_ have a better plan?"

"No," he mutters, looking away.

He wishes he'd called someone, anyone, to come with him. Now he's stuck here with Theo waiting for who knows how long just for the chance that the thing that pulled them down isn't completely evil. The worst part is that he feels his heart hammering in his chest, and he's sure Theo can hear it too. He'd love to blame it on adrenaline, but the truth is that Theo makes him nervous. Liam's not scared of him, not anymore, but he can't shake the anxiety that spreads through his limbs whenever they're together. He doesn't know what it means, and he mostly tries not to think about it. It might be some lingering trauma from what happened before they sent Theo under, but regardless of the reason, it's infuriating to know that it's there, making him hot under his clothes, fidgety and uncomfortable.

"How did you get here, anyway?" Theo asks, moving away to go and sit on the bed(?), which looks more like a small bench with him standing next to it. "You got here pretty fast."

"Uh," Liam says, scratching his head and grimacing when his fingers come away with dirt. "I took my old bike."

"You have a motorbike?"

"No, I meant my old bicycle."

"Oh," Theo says, looking at him like he's just said the strangest thing. "I thought your house was around five miles from here."

"It is."

Theo stares at him.

"What?" Liam asks, starting to feel uncomfortable. "I just peddled really fast! I'm not lying about the bike, okay?"

Theo shakes his head, looking down at his own hands with a soft sound of amusement. "I know you're not. I can hear your heartbeat."

"Then what is it?"

"Nothing." He drags a hand down his face, and Liam is momentarily distracted from their conversation by the reappearance of his cheek mole.  _Good riddance, stupid smudge._  "Just unexpected, is all."

Liam takes a second to remember what they were talking about, and then frowns when he does. "That I have a bike? Dude, everyone who can afford it has had a bike at some point."

"Sure, that's what's unexpected," Theo says, looking at him with a soft smile. It's weird, seeing such a look on his face, and Liam has to turn away to stop his heart from beating out of his chest. They're already stuck deep underground, he doesn't need to have a sudden heart attack on top of that.

"Hey, can werewolves have heart attacks?"

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

Liam shrugs, looking down at his feet. "No reason, just curious."

"Pretty strange thing to be curious about right now, all things considered." Theo snorts. "Are you worried you'll have a heart attack when you see the dwarf? They're not that scary, I promise."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm worried about," Liam lies, trying not to glare at him.

Theo doesn't answer, his head tilting to the side and his brow furrowing in concentration. "It's here."

Liam hears the rapid heartbeat a second later and lets his claws come out, his fangs growing behind his closed mouth.

"Don't shift, we shouldn't look threatening if we want it to let us go," Theo says, getting up from the bed(?) and coming to stand next to him. His side pressing up against Liam's helps him calm down. He lets his heart synchronize with Theo's and takes a deep breath, breathing his scent in and letting go of the rush of adrenaline trying to pull him under.

His fangs and claws recede.

"You better be right about that."

 

***

 

The dwarf lets them out.

Liam is actually surprised at how quickly things get solved. Usually, whenever some supernatural creature comes to town, there's a little more bleeding and death and general terror. But this time, instead of trying to skin them alive or something of the sort, the dwarf just pops out of the ground beneath them, takes one look at them, and says, "Sorry about my son," in a rough voice.

When they've both been pulled back up to the surface, safe and sound, Liam takes a moment to lie down on the lacrosse field and wonder how his life has come to this. It's great that they haven't been horribly murdered, really, but the fact that that's what he's come to expect whenever something goes slightly wrong is a bit worrying.

"See, I told you it'd be fine."

He turns to look at Theo, who's sitting cross legged a few feet away from him. His hair is falling into his eyes, messy and dirty, and Liam gets the crazy urge to reach forward and brush it away.

He coughs, embarrassed at his own thoughts.

_Definitely going crazy._

"Yeah, I guess." He tries to clean off some of the dirt caked under his nails but realizes quickly enough that it's pointless. He'll need a long shower when he gets home.

"Do you want a ride back?" Theo asks, looking down at his dirty shirt with a frown. "As thanks for coming to help me and being completely useless."

"You're an asshole."

Theo snorts at that, getting up and rolling his shoulders. Liam can hear the way they crack under his skin and swallows down the sudden knot in his throat.

"So, ride?"

"Okay." He pushes himself to his feet as well. "I need to get the bike first."

They go grab the bike, which Liam left lying sideways on the ground by the entrance in his rush to get to Theo, and once they've got it on the back of Theo's pickup truck Liam settles in next to him and leans his head against the seat as Theo starts the car.

"I'm going to be so tired tomorrow," he groans.

"You have classes?" 

"Yeah. I need to finish my homework still."

Theo hums, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. "Which class?"

"Math. I was working through it but then I got your text so..."

"Ah, right." Theo glances at him out the corner of his eye. "It's almost midnight."

Liam rubs his eyes with one hand. "It's okay, I wasn't gonna get much sleep anyway."

"Do you need help?"

"What?" he asks, looking at him in surprise.

Theo grimaces, avoiding his gaze. "Do you need help? With your homework."

Liam presses his lips together, staring at him.

Help would be welcome, if he's honest, but it'd be a little weird to invite Theo into his house to help him with his homework, wouldn't it? What if one of the others smelled him in Liam's room? What would Liam even say?  _I needed his help to finish my homework so I could get a good night's sleep so I invited him in?_ That just sounds like a lame excuse, even if it'd be true.

On the other hand, he really needs some decent sleep.

"Okay," he says, instead of refusing like he should. "We both need a shower, anyway, and I know you don't exactly have one available at this time of the night."

Theo tenses at the mention of his living situation but nods stiffly to acknowledge Liam's words, his eyes not leaving the road.

When they get to his house, Liam lets Theo park just outside their garage before they both make their way inside and up to his room.

"Both my parents are working tonight so don't worry about them seeing you," Liam tells him, settling on the edge of his bed.

Theo nods, looking around the room with muted interest. After a long moment, he seems to get bored with inspecting Liam's possessions and starts peeling off his shirt.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Liam asks, his voice coming out in a squeak as he turns his eyes away.

He can feel Theo's confused gaze land on him. "I'm undressing so I can shower, what do you think I'm doing?" he says dryly. Liam hears the dull thud of his shirt hitting the floor. "You literally shower with a bunch of naked guys every time you have practice, stop acting like a prude."

"That's different!" Liam says, dropping back on his bed and turning his face into his blankets.

"How so?"

"They're all like...my team-mates. You're...you."

"Wow, that clarified everything," Theo says. "You realize you're full of dirt and are gonna have to change those sheets now that you've rubbed all over them, right?"

Liam looks over his shoulder, momentarily forgetting why he was turned away so he can glare at Theo. "Shut up."

Theo shrugs, the movement drawing Liam's attention to his naked chest and soft looking skin.

He turns away so fast it almost gives him whiplash.

"You can shower first since you're so eager."

He listens to Theo entering the bathroom, and then to the sound of the rest of his clothes dropping to the floor.

His cheeks burn.

 

***

 

The thought that he's supposed to be hiding the fact that Theo is his anchor hangs heavy on his mind as Liam showers. He realizes he's not exactly the best at keeping secrets, and the thought of spending longer than the duration of a fight with him is a bit nerve wracking. If he slips up, which has more than a 50% chance of happening, then the next step is to not let anyone in the pack find out, even if he has to resort to threatening Theo. He just has to figure out what he has that he could possibly threaten Theo with, because violence won't work, considering he gives as good as he gets, and Liam broke the sword - literally the only bargaining chip he had.

When he comes out of the bathroom, already dressed and scrubing at his hair with his towel, Theo is sitting on the floor leaning back against his bed, Liam's math notebook, which he'd left lying open on his desk, in his hands. His hair is still wet, curling at the ends and falling over his eyes. Liam wants to put a towel over it and scrub it dry just to get the sight of it out of his face. It's almost like Theo is doing it on purpose. Being all...soft and pretty.

Well, now that he thinks about it, maybe he is. Liam wouldn't put it past him.

"This is pretty easy," Theo says, looking up at him. "You're a senior, right? The principal let you guys skip a year?"

"Yeah," Liam says, dropping his towel on the back of his desk chair. "How do you even know that? You weren't exactly here for that revelation."

Theo shrugs one shoulder. "Word gets around."

Liam snorts. "Word from  _whom_?"

Theo glares up at him at the insinuation that he has no friends. Liam would feel guilty if it weren't for the fact that the reason he's friendless is because he murdered a bunch of people.

"The barista at the coffee shop three blocks from your high school. She's a senior at Beacon Hills High."

"You  _talk_  to people? Like...normal people?" Liam asks, unable to stop the incredulous tone that creeps into his voice.

"Yes," Theo says through gritted teeth, visibly annoyed. "I talk to normal people."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Liam rushes to say. "It's just, you don't seem the type to go around making friends with random coffee shop employees, that's all."

Theo raises an eyebrow. "Then what do I seem like the type?"

"I don't know," Liam says, scratching his neck. "The type to not socialize with random people? You did try to kill Scott, and Stiles says you're a sociopath."

Theo looks like he's seriously regretting this conversation. "I'm not a sociopath, Liam."

"That's what a sociopath would say," Liam says, and then presses his lips together to stop himself from speaking any further. God, he's embarrassing.

"I'm pretty sure sociopaths can't feel empathy or fall in love," Theo mumbles, barely audible if not for Liam's werewolf senses. "Come here, I'm not doing this for you, I only said I'd help."

Liam says, "Right," and quickly joins him on the floor, taking the notebook from him.

His heart races in his chest.

_Thump, thump, thump._

***

"I think Theo's in love with someone."

"Wait, what?" Mason says, dragging his eyes from his phone up to Liam's face.

"What makes you think that?" Corey asks. He's tucked against Mason's side, his cheek squished against his chest. Liam would think it's sweet if it wasn't their default position whenever they hang out at Mason's.

"Well, he implied he was able to, and since I don't think he had much of a chance to fall in love while he was wondering around with the dread doctors, I assume it's somewhat recent."

"When were you even with him?" Mason asks, frowning. "Last I checked the plan was to avoid him so he doesn't figure out he's your anchor."

"Yeah, uh, stuff happened. There was this dwarf kid-"

"You met a dwarf?" Corey asks, leaning off of Mason's chest. "Was it small? Like, where did it reach up to? Your waist? Chest?"

"Uh, I don't know, I didn't really notice..."

Mason pulls Corey back down to his chest. "Anyway, forgetting the dwarf, you're saying Theo's actually, like, in love with another human being? I didn't think that was possible."

Corey makes a face. "To be honest I thought Stiles was right about the sociopath thing."

"Well, according to Theo, he was wrong. At least in some level. I don't know what being a sociopath entails."

"Their emotions are muted and they have a very hard time feeling empathy or anything beyond infatuation. Usually they become sociopaths due to some sort of traumatic experience as a child, which affects the way their brain develops," Mason says, waving a hand. "It's still a pretty unknown condition."

"Dude, you know a weird amount of information about that," Liam tells him.

"It's interesting!"

"Okay..."

Corey lets out a soft laugh and pats Mason on the chest. "I think it's cool that you know so much stuff."

Mason kisses him on the cheek. "Thank you," he says, looking pointedly at Liam.

"Whatever." Liam snorts. "As I was saying, I think the reason he's been, you know, less murdery is because of that."

Corey and Mason exchange a look.

"It's a possibility," Mason hums thoughtfully.

"Oh, I know," Corey says. "If we find out who it is, we can use it against him if he ever finds out about the anchor thing!"

Mason nods slowly. "Yeah, yeah...that's a great idea." He looks at Liam. "You have to find out who it is, dude."

"What?" Liam says, raising both eyebrows. "How do you expect me to do that, exactly?"

"I mean, you do seem to be the one to spend the most time with him," Corey says.

And well, he's right, but except for last night in his house, Liam's only ever around Theo when some kind of supernatural activity is going on. They're not friends, they don't hang out, how is he supposed to find out about something like  _'Theo's one true love'_.

"I thought I was supposed to avoid him?"

"Change of plans," Mason says, patting him on the leg. "Now starting, Operation: find out who Theo's secretly in love with and use it as blackmail if he ever tries to go back to his old roots of murdering and manipulating people."

"This is a terrible idea."

Mason smiles. "You'll be fine. What's he gonna do? Kill you out of embarrassment?" 

 

 

***

 

 

"Why are you following me?"

"I'm not following you."

"Yes, you are. You've been following me for the past thirty minutes," Theo says, dragging a hand down his face in clear exasperation. "And you're terrible at it."

"No, I'm not!" Liam says, following him as he goes up to one of the food trucks lining the street.

"You are," Theo says. His hair falls into his eyes for a moment and he brushes it back, rolling his eyes at Liam like it's his fault. "Why didn't you just get Corey to spy on me if you were so desperate to do it? He's the one who can turn invisible."

Liam presses his lips together, feeling his eyes widen against his will.

There's an awkward pause, and then, "You didn't even think about it, did you?" Theo asks, taking some money out of his back pocket. "How you guys survived this long, I will never know."

Liam scowls. "Shut up." He pulls out his wallet. "Are you getting a hot-dog?"

"Yes?"

Liam calls the lady working on the register's attention, fighting back a smile when Theo looks at him like he's grown a second head. "Two hot-dogs, please."

"What are you doing?" Theo hisses. He has a funny hissing face, his nose all scrunched up and his eyebrows dipping low over his eyes. Liam thinks it's more cute than threatening, and it's mildly worrying because he doesn't know when he started thinking of Theo as 'cute' instead of 'scary and evil'.

"One without onions," he says, ignoring both Theo and his Theo related thoughts.

"Liam."

He turns to him. "Do you have any preferences or just the whole thing?"

"What?" Theo looks at the lady, who's watching them expectantly. "Oh, uh, all of it is fine."

She nods and moves on to tell the man working on the stove, leaving them alone for the moment.

Liam takes the opportunity to check his phone, pulling it out of his pocket while avoiding Theo's gaze, and sees that he has three new texts from Mason.

He leans the screen away from Theo.

 _dude, we totally forgot Corey can turn invisible_ , the first one says, followed by,  _hows ur investigation going? any leads on who tsl is?_. And then,  _that's short for theo's secret love btw_.

Theo sighs, startling Liam into almost dropping his phone. "Why are you still here?" he asks.

"I'm waiting for my hot-dog," Liam tells him, slipping his phone back inside his pocket.

"Why did you even order a hot-dog?"

"I'm hungry?"

Theo stares at him, as if trying to figure out his real intentions, and then sighs again. "Whatever."

They wait for their hotdogs to be ready in silence after that, and when they finally both have them in their hands, Liam hands the lady a ten dollar bill and takes a bite out of his.

"To pay for both?" she asks.

"N-" Theo tries to say, but Liam cuts him off.

"Yes!" he says through his mouthful. "It's for both."

The lady nods at that, punching in the amount and then handing Liam his change.

"What is this?" Theo asks him as they move away from the truck. "Following me around, buying me food. What did you do?"

Liam swallows down his food. "I didn't do anything."

Theo gives him a look that says he doesn't believe him at all. "Sure."

"I didn't!"

Theo shrugs, biting into his hot-dog. He chews for a moment, and then looks at Liam. "Am I dying? Did you guys poison me or something and you're trying to give me a last meal before I drop dead?"

Liam chokes on his hot-dog. "Wha-" He coughs, once, twice. "No, of course not!"

Theo watches him, an amused tilt to his mouth.

"Oh, you were joking."

"Mostly, yeah. Not that I think Stiles wouldn't do it if he had the chance."

"He wouldn't," Liam says quickly. "It'd make Scott sad if he did."

And it'd definitely make Liam sad, though he imagines his reason and Scott's would be different. Liam's being that Theo is his anchor and kinda, maybe, sorta important to him, and Scott's being that he just doesn't want Stiles going around murdering people.

They walk in silence for a while, both focused on eating, and Liam realizes that, unexpectedly, he doesn't feel uncomfortable. He still feels nervous - that undercurrent of anxiety he can never shake whenever Theo stands too close - but it's not so terrible he wants to move away.

He wants to text Mason back, tell him that apparently he's really bad at stalking people, especially when said people are ex-murderers he brought back from hell, and ask him what he should do next. He can't straight up ask Theo about it, and soon Theo will realize Liam is still hanging around and tell him to leave him alone, which is a depressing thought in and of itself.

He eats the rest of his hot-dog in two large bites and grabs his phone, lowering the screen brightness until he's sure Theo couldn't read his texts if he tried.

 _he realized i was following him like 30mins in so now we're eating hot-dogs_ , he sends back, to which Mason answers right away with,  _how did you go from spying on him to eating hotdogs with him..._

Liam sighs.  _it just happened_ , he types out, looking at Theo out the corner of his eyes. He's eating his hot-dog in small bites, as if trying to make it last as long as possible, and it's strangely cute.  _he was gonna eat one and i was kinda hungry too so i thought why not_

_sometimes your brain works in mysterious ways dude_

_ANYWAY_ , Liam types, getting restless,  _what do i do now?_

_idk.. go home and we can get corey to spy next time_

_i cant just leave!_

_then idk what to tell u_

...

 _Well_ , he thinks as he slips his phone back inside his pocket,  _texting Mason was completely useless._

He glances at Theo. "So...what have you been doing lately, besides being kidnapped by dwarfs?"

Theo looks at him, eyebrows raised. "Are you seriously trying to make small talk right now?"

Liam shrugs. What else is he supposed to do? Talk about deep stuff?  _Hey Theo, remember that time you murdered a bunch of people and tried to kill my alpha? Well, no one in my pack trusts you because of that and I was wondering if you could tell me who you're in love with, just so everyone can be comforted by the fact that they have something on you._  He doubts that would go over well.

Theo sighs. He does that a lot, now that Liam's paying attention. "Go ahead."

"What?"

"I can see you're dying to ask something. What is it?"

Liam looks away, rubbing his hands together. "I'm not- I don't...I have nothing to ask."

Theo lets out a breath of amusement. "You're such a bad liar, god."

Liam scowls at him.

"It's a good thing, really," Theo goes on, finishing off his hotdog with one last tiny bite. He crumples his napkin and throws it into one of the trashcans next to them. "It means you're honest, trustworthy. Those are good qualities, you know?"

Liam stares at him. "Did you just...compliment me?"

Theo frowns. "I'm just stating facts."

"That was totally a compliment!" He lets out a surprised laugh. "Should I compliment you back, now?"

Theo turns away. "Shut up."

Liam leans closer to him, grinning. "Hmm, let me see...I like your hair, when it's not full of dirt and stuff. And you smell nice, for someone who probably doesn't shower everyday."

Theo looks at him, surprised, and then a scowl falls over his face. "I shower everyday."

"You do?" Liam thought the whole homeless situation would make that a little hard. "How?"

"The gym shower is free."

"Oh," he says, suddenly embarrassed at his own assumptions. "Right."

"You like my hair?" Theo asks, as if finally realizing what Liam said. He looks almost shy, running a hand through his hair, but that can't be because he's Theo and Liam's pretty sure 'shy' isn't within his emotional range.

"Sure. It's nice hair," Liam says, trying to act nonchalant while internally regretting ever opening his mouth. Why did he even think it was a good idea to compliment Theo back? Clearly Mason was right about his brain - it works in mysterious ways. "Oh," he says, seeing an ice-cream truck in the distance and trying to change the subject. "Let's get some ice-cream."

Theo gives him a strange look but follows behind him as he moves towards the truck.

Ice-cream is a good idea, now that Liam thinks about it. People who eat ice-cream together always spill all their secrets to each other in movies - though he's pretty sure that's usually between close friends, not a guy brought back from hell and the one who brought him back.

It's still worth a try.

He asks for a strawberry and chocolate ice-cream and then looks to Theo, who's staring at the flavors with such an intense look on his face that Liam worries for a second that he's having a stroke.

"Which do you want?"

Theo frowns, eyes moving over all the containers. He bites his lip, clearly unsure, and then turns to Liam. "I don't know. You pick."

"Wait, what?" Liam says, exchanging a quick look with the ice-cream seller. "Don't you have a favorite? Just pick that one."

Theo shrugs, looking down at his feet. "I don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't have a favorite."

"Everyone has a favorite, even if it's just plain vanilla."

"Well, I don't," Theo snaps, looking away. His ears are red, and Liam realizes with a start that he's embarrassed.

Embarrassed about ice-cream.

What.

"Theo...you've eaten ice-cream before, right?"

Theo scowls. "Of course I have."

Liam lets out a breath. "Uh, when was the last time you did?"

Theo stares down at the flavors, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but here. "I'll just eat the chocolate one, okay?" he says, deflecting the question.

"Sure," Liam says easily, letting it go. He's pretty sure he knows what his answer would be, anyway. He doubts the dread doctors were buying Theo any sweets while he was with them. It's a little sad to think about, and Liam files the information away for later.

He pays for their ice-creams and Theo has no reaction besides eyeing him suspiciously. He's probably still convinced Liam's done something, which is hilarious because Liam literally went out of his way to save him just a few days ago, so why Theo thinks he would suddenly turn around and want to harm him in any way is beyond him.

"I'll find out what you're up to, eventually," Theo tells him. "As I said, you're a terrible liar."

Liam snorts, licking up his ice-cream. "Do your best to figure it out, then."

"I will."

 

***

 

Later that day, when he's back at Mason's snacking on chips and watching some sort of action movie Stiles begged him to see, Liam mentions the barista comment Theo made when he was at his house.

"He has friends?" Mason asks, looking skeptical.

"I wouldn't say it's a friend, it's probably just a...casual acquaintance."

"But still, he talks to people. That's pretty wild."

That's what Liam thought too. "He talked to people before."

"Yeah," Mason says. "Because he had an evil plan that required him to talk to people."

"Look," Liam sighs, looking away from the screen, "I had a reason for mentioning this. Maybe he's like, in love with this mysterious barista."

Mason tucks his knees against his chest, resting his chin on them. "Hmm, but why would he mention them to you."

"He probably didn't mean to. He just said he knew about us skipping grades so I asked him how and he said it was the barista who told him. Apparently she's a senior at the school."

"Do you think she's in one of our classes?" Mason asks, looking intrigued. "Imagine the person sitting behind you in Chemistry is Theo's secret love. Wow."

"The person sitting behind me in chemistry is Corey, so I sure hope not."

"Oh," Mason says, choking on a laugh. "Well, we can rest assured that it's none of us. His feelings towards the pack in general are pretty clear."

"Mild annoyance?"

"More like hate."

Liam frowns, looking away from a random explosion on the tv. "He doesn't hate us. He helped us."

"Dude, can't you smell his feelings or something? I bet he totally hates all of us. We literally sent him to hell."

"It's harder to pick up on his emotions, I don't know why." He grabs a chip. "And we didn't send him to hell, that was Kira. We just stood there and watched."

"I'm sure he really cares about that distinction," Mason says dryly.

"I brought him back! That has to count for something!" Liam says, an intense feeling of wrongness coiling around his heart at the thought of Theo hating him. It's strange, because he didn't think he'd care about something like that.

Apparently, he was wrong.

"Why do you even care if he likes us? We don't like him either, it's mutual," Mason says with furrowed eyebrows.

"I don't!" Liam says quickly.

Too quickly, it seems, because Mason's eyebrows rise up his forehead and he says, "Oh my god, dude, you totally care!" He reajusts his position on the floor, leaning closer to Liam. "Why?"

Liam avoids his curious gaze and shifts in place, legs tingling from disuse. "I don't know."

"Is it because he's your anchor?"

"Maybe? I don't know, Mason, just drop it," he says, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

Mason mimics zipping his lips and turns back to the movie. The main character is now swinging from the ledge of a building, and Liam is so completely lost on what the plot is that he's gonna have to tell Stiles he didn't manage to watch it after all.

"We can try and figure out which coffee shop he was talking about?" Mason suggests after a moment, his eyes leaving the screen to stare at the side of Liam's face.

"I'll do it. You guys let me handle it and don't worry about it," Liam tells him, meeting his gaze.

Mason looks like he wants to protest but then seems to think better of it and nods. "Okay."

 

 

***

 

 

"We're here, happy?" Theo says with an eye roll, gesturing around the cosy coffee shop.

And Liam  _is_ happy, if a little confused.

The walls of the shop are painted a soft beige with little muffins stamped in baby blue, the cushioned chairs the same shade of blue while the tables painted a warm light brown. There's a soft song playing from the speakers on the ceiling, Liam doesn't recognize it but the background strumming of a guitar is relaxing enough that he thinks he could fall asleep if he sat down for too long. With hardwood floors and ceiling lamps that reach down halfway to the ground, it looks like the kind of place you'd go to on a lazy afternoon to read a book and drink some hot cocoa, not a place he imagined Theo going to at all.

"It's nice," Liam tells him, moving to seat at one of the tables by the window. Theo sits in front of him, a grumpy look on his face.

"No need to sound so surprised."

"I mean, you did live in the sewers for most of your life," Liam says with a shrug, picking up the menu and running his eyes over the food choices. "Oh, blueberry muffins? Yum."

Theo brings a hand up to his face and presses his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Why exactly did you want to come here?"

"Just curiosity," Liam says, and it's not even a lie. He is curious - it might not be about the coffee shop but rather the person working in it, but Theo doesn't need to know that.

"I'll pay," Theo says, dragging a hand over the table and taking the menu from Liam.

"But you're-"

"I have a job."

"Wait, you do?" Liam asks, caught off guard.

"Yeah. I found it a couple weeks ago. It's just part time at this tool shop downtown but it's enough to get by."

"Oh," Liam looks down at his fingers, a smile creeping onto his face against his will. He bites his cheek. "I'm glad."

Theo grunts, lifting a hand to call up one of the waiters.

"So, do you want a blueberry muffin?"

"Yeah."

"And what do you wanna drink?"

"Uh, hot cocoa?" Liam says, hesitantly. "This seems like the kind of place to serve hot cocoa."

"It is," a waitress pipes in, having reached their table. Her name tag reads  _Eve_  and Liam thinks it suits her, with her long black hair falling down her shoulders in waves and her pretty green eyes. She smiles, friendly and sweet, and her cheeks dimple. "You brought someone with you today, huh? Is mister broody finally making friends?"

Theo rolls his eyes and points at Liam, ignoring her comment. "Blueberry muffin and hot cocoa for him. The usual for me."

She repeats the order back to them, pen tapping at her little notebook but writing nothing down, and then gives Theo a cheeky grin. "Coming right up, handsome."

She leaves to go get their orders ready, and Liam turns to Theo with wide eyes. He feels something dig at his chest, curling and uncurling - something nasty and terrible that leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. He thinks he knows what it is, but just the thought of it makes him choke with anxiety, so he pretends he doesn't.

" _That's_  your coffee shop friend?" he says, instead of digging too deep into his own thoughts.

"She's not my friend."

"Acquaintance, whatever." He waves it off. "Dude, she's, like, super cute."

Theo's face sours at that and he looks away, fingers tapping at the table. "So?"

"So?" Liam repeats, incredulous. "Are you serious?"

"I don't see how her appearance is relevant here. She's just the waitress."

Liam feels his chest loosen up at that, and he bites his cheek to stop himself from groaning. So, clear bout of jealousy aside, at least he's found out that Eve can't possibly be the one Theo's in love with. Liam knows Theo can lie, can control his own heartbeat to a level that shouldn't be possible, but he reeks of annoyance, and Liam's pretty sure he'd be sweating at least a little if he were being questioned about the person he's in love with.

"Do you talk to any of the other waiters?" Liam asks, looking around to check the other potential candidates for 'Theo's secret love'. There's a guy that looks around college aged manning the register, but besides that it's just Eve.

"Not really, no. And I don't really talk to her, it's more that she talks at me," Theo says.

"She seems nice, and you could do with a few more friends," Liam says, looking over his shoulder to where Eve is humming by the coffee machine. He feels like he's playing devil's advocate, because while he does think Theo making some friends would be good for him, it still makes something burn deep in Liam's stomach to think that Theo could stop putting up with his presence in favor of being with other people he likes better.

It's an awful thing to think, he knows, because even if Theo is kind of an asshole, it still doesn't make it right to want to monopolize him.

"I don't need your advice about making friends."

"Well, between us, who has more than one friend?" Liam asks, turning back to him. He points a thumb at himself and raises an eyebrow. "Yup, that's right. Me."

"One friend?"

"Huh?"

"I don't have any friends," Theo says, leaning his elbow on the table and resting his chin on his hand. "And I'm fine as I am."

"Oh," Liam says. Of course. For a moment there he'd forgotten he and Theo aren't actually friends. He's just here to get some leverage over him, nothing more. His confusing feelings are messing with his head, making him see things that aren't there. It's all probably because of the anchor thing, he tells himself, normally he wouldn't even care whether Theo thought they were friends or not.

"Hey, Theo."

Theo looks up from where he's started picking at the edge of the menu with his nail. "What?"

"Do you want me to leave?"

"What? Why all of a sudden?"

"Just a thought," Liam mumbles. He looks down at his hands. "I did drag you here basically against your will."

"I'm the one who led us here. It wasn't against my will."

"But you didn't seem that eager to do it..."

"Well, you showed up in the middle of my nap and knocked on my car window for five minutes until I opened it, so I think it's pretty obvious why I was a bit reluctant to do anything you asked for just then."

"Right." Liam scrubs a hand over his hair, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry."

Theo gives him a strange look, opening his mouth as if to speak but closing it with a click when he notices Eve walking towards them.

"A blueberry muffin and a hot cocoa," she says, placing Liam's order in front of him. "And an orange juice and a slice of strawberry tart for the grumpy pants."

Theo eyes his food as she places it in front of him and then grabs his straw without another look in her direction, taking off its plastic wrapping and dipping it in his juice.

Liam smiles at Eve, because at least one of them has to have some semblance of politeness. "Thank you."

She beams back. "No problem. If you need anything else, just call."

She leaves them to their food and Liam turns back to Theo, who's already biting into his tart. He looks like he's never eaten anything better in his life, his eyelids fluttering as he chews slowly. He takes little bites all around the crust and then further and further in until there's nothing left. It reminds Liam of a little kid, which is ridiculous because it's  _Theo_. His genuine smiles might be small and sweet, and he might look soft and harmless in his sleep, with his nose scrunched up from a dream and his mouth slack, but he's still dangerous, even if he doesn't pose a threat to Liam anymore.

"Good?" Liam asks, hiding a smile behind his hand.

Theo nods, taking a sip of his juice. "You're not gonna eat yours?"

Liam looks down, remembering himself. He bites down an embarrassed laugh and grabs his muffin, taking a large bite. Theo watches him with curious eyes, and then nods in satisfaction when Liam lets out a pleased sound at the explosion of flavor in his mouth.

"Their food is great."

"Yeah," Liam agrees, swallowing down the rest of the muffin in his second bite. "It is."

Theo pulls the sleeves of his hoodie over his palms and taps his fingers against the table, eyes following them. Liam watches as he pulls his lower lip inside his mouth and sucks on it for a moment, before letting it go red and slick with spit. It's weirdly erotic, and Liam has to turn away, afraid that his emotions might show on his face - or worse, his scent.

"We could come again," Theo says, tentatively. His eyes still on his hands.

Liam chokes on air. "O-oh?"

Theo looks at him from under his lashes, a look of uncertainty crossing his face before he clears his throat and looks out the window. "I mean, since you liked the food."

"Right," Liam says, his voice coming out a bit squeaky. He forces his eyes away from Theo's face. "Sure, I- I'd like that."

Theo looks at him out the corner of his eye. "Okay."

Liam bites his cheek to stop himself from smiling. He's glad his cheek heals fast, with all the times he's bitten it today. "Okay."

 

 


	2. oh

A whole coven of witches arrives in town right at the beginning of spring break, which is the only reason, Liam thinks, that all of them manage to survive.

With Scott and the rest of the pack back for the time being, they manage to stop the coven from making too much damage around town while they go about their business of tracking down a fugitive dark witch. Scott claims they're not bad people, they're just a bit unaware of the fact that you shouldn't go around throwing dangerous spells in a town full of fragile humans. Stiles says it's probably less them being unaware and more them thinking of humans as lesser beings, which Mason agrees with.

Liam doesn't have an opinion on it, all he wants is for them to leave as soon as possible so they can go back to pretending their lives are at least some level of normal - as such, that is the opposite of what actually happens, because as he's come to learn in the past few years, life hates him very much.

"Why would you tell them that?" Stiles shouts over the sound of trees and dirt exploding from misdirected spells. "I told you they weren't nice people!"

Scott, who's hiding behind a large tree between Liam and Stiles, lets out a short breath and looks around in mild panic. "I just told them not to kill anyone or we'd have to take action, I didn't know they'd take it as a threat!"

"It was a threat, though! You clearly worded it as a threat!" Liam yells, pushing himself further up against Scott when a spell brushes right past his ear, leaving the smell of burnt wood behind. "You even did the glowy eyes thing!"

"And the deep voice thing!" Stiles adds.

"And the lowering your head and clenching your jaw thing!" Malia yells from somewhere nearby.

"Okay, I get it!" Scott says, knocking his head back against the trunk of the tree.

Stiles pats him on the chest, strangely sympathetic, and says, "Just tone down the alpha thing next time, okay buddy?"

Scott nods, lips pursed.

"Honestly, sending Corey away was a bad idea," Liam mumbles, trying to peek around the tree to check out the witches' location. Another spell flies past him, singeing the tips of his fringe, and he tucks himself back against the tree with a choked yelp. "Okay, not doing that again."

"Liam!" Theo shouts from somewhere ahead of them. "Did your hair just get burned?!"

"Dude, there are more important possibly-deadly-things happening right now besides Liam getting his hair a bit ruined!" Stiles shouts back, his hand coming to grab at Scott's shirt as three consecutive spells hit their tree.

Liam can hear wood splintering behind them and knows they don't have long before it gets blown to pieces and they're left out in the open. They need to find some new place to hide or they'll be hit with one of the spells in moments, and while he thinks he and Scott might survive one or two hits, Stiles is still decidedly human.

"I'm okay!" he yells, which seems to reassure Theo somehow because he doesn't say anything more. "We need to find another cover, this tree won't last long."

Scott grabs his arm and pulls him against his side. "Right," he says. "On three, we run for that one over there." He points to a massive oak tree a few feet ahead.

Stiles and Liam nod.

"One, two, three!"

The three of them sprint towards it, Liam and Scott running ahead of Stiles, who almost trips over a root but gets grabbed by Malia, who jumps out of nowhere to save him from meeting an embarrassing demise via face plant. In under ten seconds Liam is throwing himself against the trunk of the new tree, and he's pretty sure he's lost Scott somewhere along the way, though he's reassured of his continued survival by the sound of his ragged breathing somewhere to his left.

"Liam," Theo says, breathing hard, and he's pressed up against the same tree as Liam, his hair falling into his eyes and his mouth half open in surprise.

Even with the adrenaline rushing through his veins, Liam can feel his heart skip a beat at the sight of him.

"Oh, hi!"

A spell hits their tree, making the ground tremble, and Theo lets out a curse, leaning around the trunk to see where it came from. Liam hears a loud * _woosh_ * and pulls him back against his side just as a spell flies by.

"Yeah, tried and tested. No peeking around, please," he says, hands digging into Theo's waist to keep him still.

Theo nods, sucking in a shaky breath of air. "I thought they just wanted to catch their runaway witch or something, why are they attacking us? It can't just be because Scott was a bit threatening."

"He's a true alpha," Liam hears Malia say, and he looks around but still can't see where she is. "According to Stiles that makes a big difference."

"What? Who are you talking to?" Stiles asks from the same direction.

"Liam. Now hush," Malia says.

Liam exchanges a look with Theo, who just shrugs and tilts his head towards another tree. "We can't stay here. We have no way of fighting them and at this rate someone's gonna get hurt."

"Mason and Corey went to get Lydia, we just need to hold out until she gets here."

"Oh. Because she's the only one with a long range ability," Theo says, understanding falling over his face. "That's a good idea, but still, I don't think hiding and ducking will work for much longer."

"I know. But we can't just run out into the open or we'll really end up dead."

"We just need a distraction," Theo says. He leans his head back, eyes closed, and after a moment of silence he turns to look at Liam again. "I've got an idea."

"Please tell me it doesn't involve any of us getting hit with one of those spells."

Theo shrugs. "Hopefully not."

"Very reassuring."

"I try," he says with a grin, and Liam can do nothing but helplessly grin back.

***

The plan works, but not without leaving Theo with a hole in his side.

"Theo-" Liam says, dropping to his knees next to him. He presses his hands to the gaping wound and blood soaks through the sleeves of his sweater and stains his fingers. "There's a-" he swallows hard, his ears filled with static.

Theo lets out a terrible gurgling sound and coughs, blood dripping from his mouth. "Yeah, I noticed," he says through gritted teeth.

Liam presses his hands harder against his side, feeling his claws coming out. "It's- there's a lot of blood," he says, his tongue heavy in his mouth.

"I'll be fine," Theo says, his jaw clenching. "I can hear your heart racing from here." He grabs Liam's shoulder, leaving a bloody handprint on the fabric. Liam has to swallow down a wave of nausea at the sight. "Hey, Liam." Theo snaps his fingers in front of his face. "I'll be fine. I can feel myself healing already."

Liam gives a quick nod, trying and failing to will away the glowing of his eyes. He can hear Scott and the others fighting, Lydia's ear-shattering screams loud over everything else, but somehow it all seems distant, like he's underwater.

Theo trys to sit up, saying, "We need to go." And he's right, but all Liam can see is the way fresh blood spills from his open wound when he moves, and his head fills with cotton.

"No, no, no, you gotta stay still. You have a hole in your side. Theo," he chokes out, pushing Theo back down with a hand to his chest. His heart is beating so fast it hurts, and his fangs poke out of his mouth, making his words come out slurred. "Don't move."

Theo looks at him, surprise evident on his face, and then lays back down. "Okay," he says. He taps two fingers to the hand Liam has pressed against his chest. "I won't move."

Liam lets out a shaky breath. "But you're right, we can't stay here." He looks around, seeing nothing but trees and bushes. No sight of the witches, but no sight of the others either. They're completely alone, and it's both a blessing and a curse. "You can't move." He grabs Theo's hands and places them over the wound. "Keep putting pressure."

Theo watches him warily as he gets up, and then seems to relax when Liam doesn't make any moves to walk away.

"I'm gonna have to carry you," Liam tells him, after a long moment of deliberation. He focuses on Theo's smell under the metallic scent of blood, on his heartbeat and the soft rise and fall of his chest, and in a moment, he feels his fangs and claws recede. "There's no other way."

"Wait, what," Theo asks, watching him through half lidded eyes. His face is pale and wet with sweat, and Liam wants to brush his hair away from his eyes and touch the back of his hand to his cheek, but he doesn't. Instead, he crouches down next to him and hooks an arm under his legs and another around his back.

"Up we go!" he says, heaving him up, hand digging harder into Theo's thigh when he shifts against him in surprise. "Don't move, you might bleed out."

Theo wraps an arm around Liam's shoulders, his right hand still pressing on his wound. "I can walk!"

"I'd rather you didn't, though," Liam says, starting to make his way through the trees, ears out for any noises that might mean a witch is close by.

"Why?"

"Just for my own peace of mind." He grunts, jumping over a fallen log. "Just- stop talking and heal."

"Hah," Theo says, letting out a pained groan when Liam almost trips on a rock. "You're bossy when you're worried."

Liam opens his mouth to deny that he's worried, but then realizes how pointless it'd be. He's carrying Theo, and he quite literally lost control over his shift just a few moments ago, so denying that concern is eating away at his chest right now would probably do nothing but make Theo think he's embarrassed, which he isn't. Theo's his anchor and Liam's allowed to care about him, even after all the things that happened between them in the past.

He thinks it's time he stops overthinking things, because no amount of chewing on his feelings will make them change, and he's been through enough to know that denying himself what he wants will only leave him with worlds of regret.

So yeah, he likes Theo.

He  _likes_  Theo.

He wants to hold his hand and run his fingers through his hair. He wants to lick into his mouth and kiss his neck and smell him on his own clothes. He wants to tell him he deserves to be happy too and that, despite everything, Liam still wants to watch him fall asleep next to him and see the way his eyes squint against the sunlight coming through the windows in the morning.

It's crazy, but it also feels right, somehow. Like it's been a long time coming.

Theo must notice the way his heart picks up speed again, because he lets out a soft sound of confusion and looks down at Liam's chest. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Liam says, clearing his throat.

If Theo hears the way his heart skips at the lie, he doesn't comment on it. He just leans his head down on his own arm and closes his eyes. "Okay, I see, just another Liam freak out." Liam can feel his breath on his neck when he speaks, and it makes goosebumps rise all the way down his back and arms.

He lets out a breath through his nose, suppressing a shiver. "Don't fall asleep."

"Yeah, yeah," Theo says, fingers tapping at Liam's shoulder blades. "Wouldn't be able to even if I wanted," he mumbles, burying his face on the inside of his elbow. 

 

***

 

Theo stays at Liam's house. He dresses into a pair of Liam's pajamas and collapses on his bed with an exhausted sigh, falling asleep almost instantly. Liam understands that he must be tired from the slow healing of his injury, but that doesn't mean Theo's head resting on his pillow doesn't drive him insane anyway, his thoughts falling into a loop of * _'Theo's scent all over my bed!!!'_ *.

He is, admittedly, not the best at dealing with his feelings, specially when they consist of a desperate kind of want and a need to be closer and as tender as humanely possible. He wonders why it is that, somehow, his feelings for Theo are of a gentler kind than his feelings for Hayden had been. If he'd ever guessed he'd end up in this position, he never would've imagined he would just...want to hold Theo's cheek, and kiss his nose, and smell his hair.

It's honestly ridiculous.

He spends a good amount of time watching Theo sleep, tracing the soft lines of his face, his slack mouth and his long lashes brushing against his cheeks, and then he realizes how weird it is to be staring at him like a creep so he gets under the covers next to him, pulling one of his fallen pillows from the floor and puffing it up before setting it under his own head.

He tries to sleep, he really does, but his whole body is hyper aware of Theo lying right behind him, the warmth of his skin spreading under the sheets, his scent surrounding him. It's impossible for Liam to even breathe right, let alone fall asleep. He stares at the wall and wills his brain to shut down, going as far as counting sheeps for a while out of desperation, but no matter what he does, nothing seems enough to distract him from the warm body behind him.

When it reaches 2a.m. he finally gives up and moves to stand up, carefully pulling the covers up so Theo doesn't get hit by the cold. He's just about to slip his feet inside his slippers when a hand shoots out to grab his arm. He feels his fangs come out, but immediately relaxes when he realizes it's just Theo.

"Where are you going?" he asks, his voice heavy with sleep. His eyes are barely open and he doesn't even seem fully aware of what he's doing, but his grip on Liam's arm is solid, fingertips placed right up against his pulse point.

"Uh, I can't sleep, I'm just gonna-"

"Come back," Theo mumbles, pulling Liam back under the covers with a surprising amount of strength for someone half asleep. Liam falls back against his pillow and turns to face Theo, unable to help himself. "You're like a furnace."

"You're the one that's unusually cold for a werewolf," Liam whispers.

"Not a werewolf," Theo corrects, pulling Liam closer to him. His eyes are closed now, and his voice drowsy, like he's on the edge of sleep.

Liam takes in a chocked breath and pulls on Theo's hand with trembling fingers. "Can you let go now?"

Theo doesn't answer, but his fingers release Liam's wrist, his limp hand falling down on the bed between them.

Liam licks his lips, feeling his heart beating so hard against his ribcage it hurts. "Good night," he whispers.

 

***

 

Theo sleeps well into the afternoon, not waking up even when Liam gets up and showers, moving around the room not so quietly and getting dressed in the bathroom for fear of Theo rousing and seeing him naked. He's still asleep by the time Liam has had breakfast and sent a text to the pack group chat to let them know that Theo is fine - though he doubts many of them were that worried.

It's only around 1 p.m. that he steps into the kitchen where Liam has gone to get some snacks.

His hair is mussed and he has pillow creases all over his cheeks, his shirt wrinkled up from being rucked up under him in his sleep. He brings a hand up to rub at one eye and blinks owlishly at what Liam is doing, a haze of sleep clearly still clouding his thoughts.

"Good morning," he says, his voice hoarse with sleep.

Liam looks away from him, biting down a smile. "Good morning."

"What time is it?"

"Around one." He grabs a box of cereal from one of the cabinets and holds it out to Theo, who looks at it but makes no moves to grab it. "You should eat something."

Theo runs a hand through his hair and nods, seemingly trying to shake off his sleepiness. He takes the box from Liam and stares down at it for a moment, before slowly moving forward to grab one of the bowls drying by the sink. "Thanks for letting me stay over."

Liam shrugs, leaning his hip against the counter and opening a pack of cookies for himself. "No problem. Feel free to crash here whenever, my parents don't mind. Mason stays over all the time."

He says it light-heartedly, but he knows the real weight of his offer. Just a few weeks ago he'd been worried about the pack smelling Theo in his room, and now he's giving him a free pass to staying over whenever he wants. 

He doubts Theo will really take him up on the offer, but he must realize how much it means for Liam to be saying it because he looks up from filling his bowl with milk and says, "Oh," his face going through a complicated set of emotions before settling on a neutral one. "Thank you."

He speaks softly, the edges of his mouth twitching like he's holding back a smile, and Liam wants nothing more than to spring forward and kiss the corner of his lips - nudge that smile out with his own mouth so he can bask in the feeling of knowing he's the one who caused it.

Maybe it's time he gains a little courage; if not about confessing, then at least about the other pressing issue in his life. Realistically speaking, he's never going to get anything out of Theo by spying on him or trying to be sneaky in the least sneaky way possible. The thing about Theo is that he only lets you see what he wants you to see, and the rare moments when his real emotions slip through are so far and few between they might as well not exist.

A direct approach is best, Liam realizes now.

He draws on all of Mason's past pep talks and takes a deep breath. "Theo."

Theo glances at him, a questioning look in his eyes. "Yeah?"

"Are you in love with anyone?"

If he's honest with himself, he doesn't want to know, because just the thought of it fills him with that deep sense of bitterness he felt at the coffee shop when he first saw Eve. He knows he has an annoying jealous streak, but this isn't the same thing he felt when Hayden stared at other guys, this is a kind of hopeless jealousy that comes with the knowledge that he has close to no chance of being with Theo the way he wants.

"Wh-" Theo says, clearly caught off guard. He makes an aborted motion with his hand and then frowns. "Why would you ask that?" His ears are red.

"Just something you said a while back," Liam says, taking a small bite out of one of his cookies, acting nonchalant despite his racing heart.

Theo curses under his breath, looking away. "I knew that'd come back to bite me in the ass," he grumbles. He looks at Liam, who stares back at him with raised eyebrows, and sighs. "Look, I don't know why you're asking this but I don't think we're at that stage in our relationship yet."

Liam almost chokes on his cookie, swallowing it down in one quick gulp. "I'm just curious, that's all! And the pack would probably feel reassured knowing you have someone keeping you from going on a killing spree." He frowns. "Unless the person you like is a bad person."

"He's not," Theo rushes to say, and then bites his lip, looking immediately regretful about giving himself away so easily.

Liam tries and fails to will away the sting of hurt at the confirmation of what he already knew. Somehow, it hadn't felt as real before - there was still a chance he'd just misunderstood Theo's words back in his room.

That chance is gone now.

"It's a guy?"

Theo runs a hand through his hair. "Is this why you were following me around last month?" he asks, ignoring Liam's question. "You guys are ridiculous."

Liam purses his lips. "I mean, in hindsight it does seem kinda dumb, but I didn't consider that if I asked, you would've blurted it out this fast."

Theo scowls, turning back to his bowl and starting to fill it with cereal. "Maybe being in the same room as you makes my IQ drop."

Liam scoffs, stuffing another cookie into his mouth. "Asshole."

"Dumbass."

He rolls his eyes. "Who the hell are you in love with? He must be something else for even  _you_  to be into him."

Theo stares at him, an unreadable look on his face. "He is," he says, and then faces away from Liam, a light scent of embarrassment filling the air.

Liam eats another cookie and tries not to wallow in self pity.

 

 

***

 

 

Eve has her hair pulled up into a pony tail today, and it drags Liam's attention to the large bright blue pearl earrings she's wearing. "Oh my God, you're in my history class."

She gives him a sunny grin. "I was wondering how long it'd take you to figure it out."

Liam looks at Theo, who's hiding a smirk by ducking his head to check out the menu he probably already knows by heart.

"I've literally never seen you with your hair down at school, and you always sit at the very back so it's not like I've had many chances to see your face clearly," Liam protests, turning back to her and eyeing her earrings with a hint of suspicion. "Have you been wearing those every time we've come in?"

"Yes," she says, cocking her hip against their table. "But my hair covers them most of the time. Is that seriously why you finally recognized me? My earrings?"

"They're very eye-catching, I remembered them better than your face," he hears Theo let out a muffled snort, "I mean, sorry, I didn't mean to say your face is forgettable or anything like that, you're very pretty, really, I just-"

"We'll take the usual," Theo cuts in, thankfully stopping Liam from falling into an embarrassing rant.

Eve sends Liam an amused look and then nods at Theo. "Coming right up."

Once she's gone, Liam finally allows himself to look at Theo again, his face burning with embarrassment.

"You really have a way with words, don't you?" Theo says, his nose twitching in his efforts to stop a grin from breaking onto his face.

"Shut up," Liam grumbles, looking away and suppressing a grin of his own.

Theo snorts, looking out the window, and after moment of silence he says, "Do continue what you were saying before she came."

"Oh, right." Liam looks down at his hands, picking at the loose skin around his fingernails. The good thing about being a werewolf is that he doesn't have to worry about leaving an open wound. "As I was saying, Scott and the others are leaving again and we're having a barbecue on saturday at Lydia's to say goodbye to them."

"Okay," Theo says slowly, looking confused. "What does that have to do with me?"

"I was wondering if...you wanted to drop by for a while?" Liam says, squinting one eye in preparation for rejection.

Theo looks at him like he's grown a second head right on the spot. "You're inviting me to Lydia's barbecue?"

"It's not  _Lydia's_  barbecue. It's the pack's barbecue, it just so happens to be at Lydia's place."

"Okay, the question still stands, though," Theo says, raising an eyebrow. "You're inviting me to your pack's barbecue? They all hate me, in case you haven't noticed."

Liam shrugs, looking away. "You don't have to worry about that," he tells him. He can't tell him that the pack has become a little more accepting of Theo now that they know he's Liam's anchor, but at least he can try to reassure him that no one will try to secretly poison his food, like he seems to think Stiles would if given the opportunity. "The most you'd get would be a glare or two from Malia."

"Seems like exactly the place I'd like to spend my saturday at, really," Theo says with an eye roll.

Liam sighs. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He tries and fails to mask his disappointment.

Theo stares at him for a long moment, and then groans, running a hand through his hair in clear frustration. "Fine, I'll go."

"Wait, really?" Liam asks, his excitement jumping through against his will and making him lean forward in his seat. "I mean," he clears his throat, leaning back against his chair. "That's cool. Nice. Yeah."

Theo raises an eyebrow at him. Liam thinks he has unfairly expressive eyebrows for a guy who barely even manages a smile every other day.

 

***

 

When he gets home from shopping for a new pair of sneakers on saturday, he finds Theo lying on his couch, head smushed between two pillows and hair all over the place.

"Theo?" he asks, and watches as Theo stirs softly for a moment before turning his head into one of the pillows.

Liam drops his shopping bag by the couch and sits on its arm, his thigh almost brushing one of Theo's stray limbs. "Theo," he says again, louder, and feels momentarily brave enough to nudge him on the cheek with the back of his hand. "Wake up."

Be it the touching or the louder volume, something seems to work this time around and Theo turns his head in Liam's direction, eyes squinted and lips pursed. "Liam?" he asks, confused, and then a look of clarity passes over his face and he quickly pulls himself up to his knees. "Liam."

"Yeah, it's me," Liam says with an amused smile. "Sleep well?"

Theo drags a hand through his hair, making even more of a mess of it. "I didn't mean to pass out."

Liam shifts down to sit on the couch next to him, their thighs touching for a moment before he moves a few inches away. "What are you even doing here?"

"Well, I couldn't just show up to the barbecue and risk you not being there yet," Theo says with a pointed look. His eyes are so pretty from up close, Liam notices - it's honestly unfair that someone this good looking exists. "I came by to give you a ride and your mom let me in as she was leaving for work. She somehow recognized my name when I introduced myself?"

"Oh yeah," Liam says, sheepishly picking at a loose thread on one of the holes of his ripped jeans. "I kinda mentioned you a while back and since I couldn't very well tell her how I knew you, considering  _those_  circumstances, I ended up telling her you were Scott and Stiles' childhood friend."

"Ah," Theo says, a complicated look falling over his face.

"Anyway," Liam goes on. "Scott told me to get some butter and bread on the way there so if you're giving me a ride you'll have to come and get them with me."

"Shopping, sure, how much excitement can you have in one night?" Theo says dryly.

Liam punches him softly on the shoulder and gets up from the couch. "Come on, I just came back to drop my bags, we have to go or we'll be late."

Theo gets up, stretching his arms above his head. A sliver of milky white skin peeks out from under his sweater and Liam averts his eyes.

"How were you going to get to Lydia's?"

"Bus," Liam tells him. He grabs the collar of his shirt, pulling him along behind him. "Let's go, let's go."

Theo slaps his hand away and pats down the stretched collar of his sweater. "Calm down, you caveman," he grumbles, following behind him as he opens the front door.

"You don't wanna be late to a Lydia party," Liam says, letting him pass through before closing the door behind them. "She's even scarier now that she can control her screams like that."

Theo pulls his car keys out of his pocket and clicks his car open. "I thought it was the pack's, not Lydia's."

Liam ignores his comment and opens the passenger door, settling into the seat as Theo rounds the car to the driver's side. He wonders how he didn't notice Theo's car on his way inside, it's not particularly hidden sitting here in front of his garage. Not only that, he didn't even realize Theo was inside the room until he saw him, despite the fact that his scent must have trailed all the way in.

Has he really become so used to having him around that he doesn't notice when his scent is where it shouldn't be?

"Where to?" Theo asks, tilting his chin at the road in front of them.

Liam gives him directions to the nearest supermarket, eyes fixed on the road to keep himself from staring at the way the muscles in Theo's forearms flex every time he turns the wheel. It's harder than he imagined, keeping his eyes to himself.

Was it like this with Hayden too? He can't remember.

"Just bread and butter, right?" Theo asks as they finally enter the supermarket.

Liam nods, heading towards the dairy products section. He passes by a candy isle on the way and snags a chocolate bar, unable to resist.

"You know you could've just stayed in the car, right? This won't take long," he says.

"I don't really trust you to buy the good stuff."

"It's just bread and butter, dude."

"Still."

Liam snorts, walking into the cold foods aisle. He immediately spots the butter on one of the lower shelves and goes to grab it, the cold of the freezer making goosebumps rise on his arm, but Theo pushes his hand away right before he does, a disapproving look on his face.

"See, this is why I wanted to come," he says.

Liam frowns. "What? What's wrong with that butter?"

Theo raises an eyebrow at him. "That's the off brand no salt butter, which I guess you would buy if you needed to save money and didn't care about the taste, but I'm pretty sure you can afford the decent one just fine."

"Oh." Liam looks down at the box he was about to grab and then looks at the other ones around it, utterly lost. "Which one is that?"

Theo bends down and grabs a blue one. "This one."

Liam takes it from him and turns it around in his hand before shrugging. "Okay, now we just need the bread."

"Wait, just like that?" Theo asks.

"Just like what?"

"Aren't you at least gonna check the price?"

"You just said it was fine," Liam says, confused.

"I could be lying."

"Why would you lie about that?" he says with an eye roll. "You're pretty straight forward when you're not secretly planning evil stuff, so I'm gonna trust your word on this."

Theo stares at Liam like he doesn't believe what he's saying. "Trust my word on this?" he echoes softly, brow furrowed, and then his expression shifts into something different, harder to decipher. "Oh," he looks away, "okay."

Liam eyes him for a moment, unsure, and then shrugs it off and says, "Well, whatever, lets go get the bread, yeah?"

Theo nods and follows after him as he starts to look for the aisle the bread is in. It takes a while, because the bread is at the very back of the supermarket, but once they get there Theo immediately grabs three bags of it.

"Do we really need that much?" Liam asks him, eyeing the bags in his arms.

"You guys have werewolf metabolism. * _Trust me_ *, we need this much bread," he says, and then gives Liam a look that must mean something, except Liam has no idea what.

"Uh, okay, let's go pay, then."

Theo lets out a soft sigh and an amused expression crosses his face. "You're really dense, huh."

Liam scowls. "No, I'm not."

"You wouldn't know." Theo snorts and takes the butter from him. "Let's go."

"I'm not dense!" Liam calls after him, fast walking to catch up with his long steps. They're practically the same size, how on earth is Theo so much faster than him?

"You are," Theo insists, coming to a stop at the end of one of the lines by the registers. "You really are."

"Shut up. Just because I can't read your mind doesn't mean I'm dense." Liam takes his wallet out of his pocket. "If you have something to say just say it."

Theo stares at him for a moment, then shrugs. "Nah, forget it."

"You're really frustrating, you know that?"

Theo grins. "Yeah."

 

***

 

There's something about seeing his pack and the person he's possibly, probably, very likely in love with together that settles something in Liam's chest. Maybe it's a werewolf thing, seeing all his special people all gathered like this, or maybe it just makes him happy to know half of his loved ones don't actively hate Theo anymore. It might be both.

He's been sitting on the sidelines for a while watching everyone with a wistful smile when Stiles comes to sit next to him. He has this look on his face that immediately tells Liam nothing good is about to come out of his mouth.

"You really did invite Theo, huh?"

Liam looks over at where Theo's standing by the fire, flipping meat on Lydia's stove and scowling at Mason and Corey, who've dragged him into a conversation about the best fish recipes they know. He's contributing with his own suggestions, but mainly he seems to be filing away the ones they're saying, piping in now and again when he thinks something sounds particularly gross.

Liam couldn't be happier to see him getting worked up over fish.

"Yeah, I did say I would."

"I kinda thought you'd chicken out at the last minute," Stiles admits, looking over at Theo as well. "He's okay now, I guess. Not great, not exactly good, but okay." He pats Liam on the back, giving him a tentative smile. Liam smiles back.

"Are you giving me your blessing? Is that what's happening right now?" 

Stiles laughs and gets up. "Just don't mess things up. You know how Scott gets when one of us is sad," he says, and leaves Liam to ponder on that on his own.

He doesn't know how Stiles figured it out, and he isn't sure if Scott knows as well until he meets his eyes across the yard and he throws him a thumbs up. Guess that means he has his alpha's support, which is nice but doesn't really make a lick of difference in the end, because he knows Theo's in love with someone else and it doesn't matter how Liam feels about him, it's best to keep his mouth shut and not risk ruining the still fragile relationship they've managed to form.

His mood sours a little after that, and he stays nursing his drink by himself for much longer than he'd planned. His pack is good at reading his mood, which means they mostly leave him alone, but Theo either isn't as good at it or he just really doesn't care, because at the half hour of sulking mark he gives up the stove to Mason and walks over to where Liam is sitting.

"I can't believe you invited me here just so you could sit far away and sulk."

"I'm not sulking," Liam grumbles.

Theo raises an eyebrow. "Really? Then pray tell, what exactly are you doing?" He sits next to Liam, their knees knocking together. Liam doesn't pull away.

"I'm, uh, finishing my drink."

Theo eyes the cup in his hand with disgust. "That must be all warm and gross by now."

"No it's-" Liam brings the cup to his lips and takes a sip, "ah," he smacks his lips together and wrinkles his nose, "yeah, it's pretty gross."

"So all you got from your brooding was a warm gross drink," Theo says dryly. He takes the cup from Liam and places it by their feet. "What's wrong?"

Liam eyes him warily, pulling his knees further against his chest. "You're being strangely nice, so maybe I should be the one asking that."

"I can be nice."

Liam raises an eyebrow. "Really."

Theo scowls and looks away. "Mason suggested I should try to be more...open...or something. I don't even know why I thought taking advice from him was a good idea." His ears are red, and the scent of embarrassment coming off of him is intense enough that Liam wouldn't have missed it even with a blocked nose.

"No, hey, it's nice, really. Just a bit unexpected." He tries for a weak smile when Theo turns back to him, a wary look on his face. "When did you guys even talk about that, last I was listening to you were discussing fish recipes."

"Oh?" Theo smirks. "You were listening in on our conversation?"

Liam affects a look of disinterest. "Well, you can't blame me. I don't really see you talking to people all that often, specially my friends."

"I talk to you."

"Yeah, well, that's different."

Theo looks at him out the corner of his eyes. "It is?"

"Uh..." Liam bites his lip, looking away in embarrassment. He catches Stiles's eye across the yard, who gives him a knowing smirk. He looks back at Theo. "It's different because we're friends."

Theo's eyes widen, a look of complete shock falling over his face. Liam doesn't think he's ever seen him this surprised before, which is a bit insulting, really. Didn't Theo even consider that they could be friends before?

"We're...friends?" Theo asks in a low voice. Liam can hear the way his heart skips at the word, and it makes his own skip in turn.

"Yeah...Is that so surprising?"

"Yes," Theo says bluntly.

Liam scowls, averting his gaze. "Oh, I see."

"No, I don't mean it like-" Theo scrubs a hand over his hair in clear frustration. "I just meant...I didn't think you'd ever consider me anything like that. After everything that happened."

"Ah," Liam purses his lips. "I get why you'd think like that, but, I, uh, I like," he stares down at his hands, sweat clinging to his neck, "I like when you're around."

"Oh," Theo says breathlessly, looking like he's been punched in the gut. "You're dumb."

"What?" Liam is suddenly very confused about the turn their conversation has taken. "* _You_ *'re dumb."

Theo shakes his head. "I've got to go."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, I have to leave." Theo gets up from his place next to Liam and starts walking towards the yard gate.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Liam calls after him, getting up as well.

Theo looks at him over his shoulder, a look of barely contained panic on his face. "Away. From you."

Liam stops in his tracks, a weight dropping on his stomach. "What?" He feels like a broken record.

"Just, I'll be around, okay?" Theo says, already by the gate. Liam can feel everyone's stares on them, but that's the last thing on his mind right now. He honestly can't figure out what went wrong and what about what he said freaked Theo out so much. All he did was take a page out of his book and try to be more open.

It clearly didn't work.

"Okay. Sure," he says, even though all he wants to do is shout at him and maybe punch him once, just to feel like things are back to normal and not whatever the hell is happening right now.

Theo nods and walks through the gate, leaving Liam to stare after him until he disappears down the road.

"What was  _that_  about?" Malia asks, coming to stand next to him.

"No idea," Liam tells her.

 

 

***

 

 

He only sees Theo again four days later, and it's not for lack of searching on his part. Apparently Theo's been doing his best to avoid him, which is both depressing and infuriating. If he doesn't talk to him how is Liam supposed to figure out what he did wrong and fix it?

He's on his way out of school after lacrosse practice when he sees him leaning against his car in the parking lot. He's got a serious look on his face, and the moment he sees Liam he gestures for him to come over.

"Look who's decided to show up," Liam says grumpily, knowing he'll hear him even at this distance.

Theo rolls his eyes. "Liam, come on."

"Ugh." He gives in and walks over to him - it's not like he would've been able to resist much longer anyway. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

Theo runs a hand through his hair, looking to the side. "Mason...talked to me."

"Wait, he did?" Liam asks, surprised. He couldn't find Theo when he was searching for him and he's got werewolf senses, how the hell did Mason find-?

Oh, right. Maybe Theo was just avoiding Liam specifically and didn't bother to hide from anyone else. That stings. A lot.

"He said...you think you did something wrong?" Theo looks at him with a frown. "I just- you didn't do anything wrong. You're-" He looks away. "You're fine. I'm not- upset or anything."

"Oh," Liam says, feeling a huge weight lift off his shoulders. Well, knowing he didn't do anything wrong is a big relief, but it still leaves the question of what the hell made Theo leave so abruptly mid conversation. And why he's been avoiding him these last few days. "What was that all about, then?"

Theo grimaces. "I'm just working through some stuff."

He doesn't say anything else, and Liam can take a hint, no matter how dense Theo says he is. He clearly doesn't want to say any more on that subject, and if there's one thing Liam's learned in all his time of knowing Theo is that putting pressure on him just makes him even more closed off. Best to wait it out, and then, if he's lucky, maybe Theo will willingly tell him what's going on.

It's unlikely, but still a possibility.

"Okay." He glances at Theo's car. "Give me a ride home?"

Theo looks at him - his lips are pursed but his eyes are smiling. Liam has definitely gotten better at reading him and he can't help but take pride in that. Even if the others don't care, he's taken the time to learn how to better understand the way Theo works, the ins and outs of his personality. He still doesn't know what goes on in his head most of the time, but he's probably the only person alive who can look at Theo right now and know without a doubt that he's amused. It sends a small shiver of exhilaration down his spine.

God, he's got it bad.

"Sure," Theo says. "If you're asking so nicely." 

Liam spends the ride home fiddling with the radio buttons on the car, moving from station to station without staying on one for too long. He's nervous, his heart beating erratically in his chest, but he has no idea why. He's used to the tingling in his chest and the    way his palms sweat whenever he's around Theo - now he even knows why that happens - but this is something different. He can't think of one single reason for why he'd be so anxious. Theo already explained he's not upset with him, and besides that the only thing that could worry Liam is a supernatural threat but that can't be it because, thankfully, things have been quiet since the older half of the pack left.

He looks at Theo, who's taping his fingers on the steering wheel to the sound of some unknown song, and realizes with a start that despite his calm expression, his heart is also racing in his chest.

Could it be...?

Maybe Liam isn't the one that's nervous, maybe his heart just subconsciously synced to Theo's without him realizing. But what-

"We're here," Theo says, cutting into his thoughts.

Liam looks out the window in surprise, seeing his house. "Oh," he turns to Theo, "thanks for the ride."

Theo shrugs, still taping his fingers on the steering wheel. It must be a tell he doesn't realize he has, and Liam can't help but feel special, somehow, about having figured that out.

"Do you," he hesitates, glancing up at Theo and biting his lip, "uh, do you wanna come in?"

Theo looks surprised at his question, but he recovers quickly. "Your parents aren't in?"

Liam shakes his head. "Still working. And besides, they wouldn't mind."

Theo looks out the front window of the car, visibly unsure, and then turns back to Liam after a long moment of deliberation. "I- yes, okay. Sure."

Liam almost grins but manages to refrain himself - the last thing he needs is for Theo to get embarrassed and leave again. He still doesn't know what set him off last time.

They leave the car and head into his house, Liam leading them to the kitchen after his stomach lets out a loud rumble.

"Do you want anything?" he asks Theo, opening the fridge door and grabbing a yogurt.

Theo shakes his head, leaning back against the counter. "This feels familiar," he says with a small smirk.

Liam looks up at him, feeling his face warm at the reminder of his small interrogation into Theo's love life. In retrospect, it's a bit embarrasing, and it only gave him grief in the end knowing that Theo's in love with someone else. It's like Liam keeps on making terrible decisions when it comes to this guy, no matter how hard he tries to steer them in the right direction.

Maybe the universe is working against him.

"Is this your way of asking if you can stay over again?" Liam teases, trying to mask his embarrassment.

Theo scowls. "No."

Liam shrugs, grabbing a spoon from a drawer. "I bet my bed is way better than your car," he says, waving the spoon at Theo's face with a smug grin.

Theo snorts and rolls his eyes, batting the spoon away. "It's your bed, so of cou-" he cuts himself off, letting out a chocked cough and hitting his chest with a fist. His cheeks and neck are red. "I mean, any decent mattress is better than sleeping on a car seat."

Liam eyes him warily, listening to the loud beating of his heart. It's suddenly so much faster than before, and it was already beating considerably faster than normal back in the car. "Are you okay?"

Theo raises an eyebrow at him, despite his still very red face. "Of course."

Liam takes a spoonful of yogurt into his mouth and swallows it. "You've been acting strange since earlier." He points the empty spoon at Theo and narrows one eye. "Why is your heart going 20 miles an hour, did something happen?"

Theo makes a face, nose wrinkling and lips pursed.

Liam grabs another spoonful of yogurt. "Are you...constipated?"

Theo looks at him like he's the dumbest person to ever walk the earth. "No," he says dryly.

"What? It's a valid question!"

Theo sighs. "I got myself into this, really, it's my own fault," he mutters to himself.

Now he's talking to himself? It's not exactly strange but it's definitely out of the usual range of Theo behaviours. Actually, a lot of the things he's done today have been out of his usual brand of behavior.

"Are you okay?" Liam asks again, watching as Theo keeps muttering to himself, having moved on to incomprehensible gibberish.

"You...are ridiculous," Theo blurts out, a complicated look on his face.

Liam raises an eyebrow. "Okay?"

"Utterly ridiculous."

"Uh...where's this coming from? Is it because I asked if you're constipated? Sorry if I offended you but there's no need to be embarrassed about that kind of stuff, it's perfectly normal sometimes to-"

"Oh my god, stop, please," Theo says, and he's covering his eyes with one hand. "I'm not constipated, Liam."

"It's okay if you are."

"I'm not!"

"Okay! Whatever you say." He scrapes the bottom of his yogurt carton. "Just...know that the bathroom is down the hall from the living room. In case you need it."

Theo lets out a groan. "I'm just nervous, okay?! It has nothing to do with my bowel movements!"

Liam stops with his spoon halfway to his mouth and looks at him. "You're...nervous?" He frowns. "What about?"

Theo pinches the bridge of his nose, letting out a long sigh. "Great, of course this would happen." He glares at Liam. "You can never leave well enough alone, can you?"

"What, now you're mad at me? What's up with all these mood swings?"

"It's your fault!"

"I didn't do anything!"

"You made me say I'm nervous!"

"I don't even know why! What's the big deal?!" Liam yells, throwing his spoon and yogurt in the sink. He tries to breathe in but it just makes him angrier. This really is nothing to get all worked up about, he knows, but Theo is getting agitated and Liam can't help but mirror him. He' s never been good at keeping his emotions in check, and if his anchor is acting like this, there's no way he can get himself under control. "You're acting weird and you won't tell me what's going on, I told you I'm not a mind reader!"

"You don't need to read my mind! I told you I'm fine!"

"But I know you're not!" He yells, advancing on Theo and hitting him on the chest with his finger. "Why did you run away at the barbecue?! Why do you keep avoiding my questions?! I don't know what you want!"

"You!" Theo yells, slapping his hand away. His face is red, his pupils dilated. "I want you!!"

Liam stops with his mouth half open, about to yell a reply before Theo's words registered. "W-what?" he asks, his hand slowly dropping to his side.

Theo looks like he might explode with how red his face is, and he immediately covers it with one hand, letting out a prolonged groan. "Argh, you're infuriating!"

"Theo, Theo, what did you say?" Liam asks, leaning forward and grabbing Theo by the wrist, pulling his hand away from his face. "You-"

Theo can't meet his eyes, looking at the ceiling, his eyebrows furrowed in embarrassment. "Liam, shut up."

"No, you said- you said-"

"I know what I said! I didn't mean to."

"Oh," Liam says, dropping his hold on Theo's wrist and stepping away. His chest feels constricted, it's hard to breathe. "You didn't mean it." Of course he didn't mean it, it's Theo he's talking about. Theo, who's in love with someone else and probably only tolerates Liam's presence because he's a bit on the low side when it comes to having friends. Theo, who's been, agonizingly slowly, trying to be if not a good, then an okay person, or at least someone Liam's not completely ashamed to say he has feelings for. Theo, who's looking at Liam like he's just uttered the biggest nonsense he's ever heard in his life.

"No, you idiot," he says, running a hand through his hair. "I meant it. I just didn't mean to blurt it out like that."

And just like that, Liam feels the dying spark of hope in his chest grow into a forest fire. "You...want me?" he asks, hesitant.

Theo looks away. "I hate you a little bit, just this moment." His heart skips a beat.

"But you want me," Liam insists, more confident now. His heart is beating so hard against his ribcage it's almost painful. Is this what dying feels like? If so, then he thinks this might not be the worst way to go.

"Yeah, yeah, stop repeating it, I know what I said." Theo scrubs a hand over his eyes. "What now?"

"What?" Liam asks, confused and still a little dazed. He knows what Theo's accidental confession means, but it feels like his brain still hasn't caught up yet. His head is screaming at him to say something, to stop standing around looking like an idiot and just grab Theo and pull him in, but his body refuses to comply. Theo was right, he really is ridiculous.

"I kinda...said I- ugh- have feelings for you," Theo bites his lip. "You're not really saying anything, I know you obviously don't feel the same way but-"

Something hits Liam just then. Theo said he was in love with someone, some other guy, but if he likes Liam, then-

"I'm your mystery guy?!" he cuts Theo off.

Theo's eye twitches and he flicks Liam on the forehead. It doesn't sting, but Liam still rubs at it. "I know you're slow, but really? That's the first connection you should've made."

"No- I was-" he pauses, his brain finally catching up with what Theo had been saying before he cut him off. "What do you mean,  _obviously_?"

Theo grimaces. "Well, I know what I'm like, I know I'm not-" he licks his lips and looks down. "Just, forget it." 

"No, wait, what?" Liam says, finally understanding what's going on. "No! I'm in love with you too!" he blurts out. His face is hot and he's pretty sure he's sweating through his clothes but, well, rip the bandage off in one go, as they say.

Theo wasn't kidding about not expecting his feelings to be reciprocated, because he stares at Liam like he's just grown another limb, and then shakes his head, a look of confusion passing over his face. "What?" he asks, and Liam almost laughs at his reaction - it's basically the same as his, Theo really had no room to complain.

"I said," he steps forward, pressing a hand to Theo's chest, over his heart. It beats unsteadily, an erratic drum against his fingers, and the warmth of Theo's skin soaks through the shirt and warms Liam's palm. "I...love you too."

Theo blinks, once, twice, and then his eyes widen. If Liam thought he looked surprised at the barbecue, now he looks like the earth has fallen from under his feet and he's suddenly found himself free falling.

Slowly but surely, Liam watches as he processes his words, and when it finally hits him, he lets out a soft breath and says. "You really  _are_  an idiot."

Liam scowls. "That is such a rude way to res-"

Theo cuts him off by pulling him into a kiss.

His mouth is hot, unlike his hands, which send shivers down Liam's spine when they touch his neck. Liam doesn’t immediately return the kiss, shocked and a bit confused, but the moment he realizes what’s happening he circles his arms around Theo's waist and grabs the back of his shirt with more strength than necessary - dating Hayden helped his control in moments like these, but he's not sure he'll be able to keep his claws in without that extra fabric to hold onto. He has to tilt his head just the slightest bit to reach Theo's mouth, but it's worth it for the way Theo's lashes brush against his cheeks when they move. He traces his tongue over Theo's lips, delighting in the small gasp it brings out of him, and Theo pulls him closer in retaliation, his fingers running through the short hairs at his nape and eliciting a soft groan from Liam as a spike of hot hot pleasure curses through his whole body.

When he pulls away to catch his breath, Theo chases down his lips for a moment, before he seems to remember himself and pulls back as well.

Liam traces his face with his eyes, from his bitten red lips, to his flushed cheeks and almost iris-less dark eyes. He's never seen a prettier sight in his life, it's really,  _really_ , unfair.

"You know, Theo," he says, and Theo tilts his head to show he's listening, apparently not up for speaking just yet. Liam himself is still out of breath, but that won't stop him from saying what he wants to. "You're the idiot."

"What?" Theo asks, snapped out of his daze by Liam's words. "Why?" he asks, with narrowed eyes. His hands flex against Liam's neck, and Liam can hear his heart trip over itself.

"Because you said I obviously didn't feel the same, and, I don't know how to break it to you, but you were pretty wrong." He grins.

Theo snorts, pulling him closer by the collar. "You're still an idiot anyway."

"Yeah, but you like me."

Theo rolls his eyes but doesn't deny it. "Whatever."

Liam leans his head against the crook of his neck. "Stay over?" he asks, his voice muffled by Theo's shirt.

Theo shifts against him. "Okay."

 

***

 

"I'm your  _what_?"

"My anchor."

"Since  _when_?!"

"I don't know, dude, I only noticed it a few months ago."

"Months?!" Theo says, pushing Liam off of him to see him face to face. "What the hell, Liam. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I mean, it'd be kind of a dead giveaway to my feelings, don't you think?" Liam says dryly. "Besides, the pack thought you might use it against me or something."

"Oh," Theo says, and lies back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling for a long moment before adding, "You thought so too?"

"No." Liam snorts. All he'd thought back then was that Theo looked pretty nice every time he saw him. In retrospect, he was pretty much drooling over him even before he noticed his feelings. Maybe he really is as dense as Theo claims. "But I didn't have any real reason to tell you, you know?"

"I guess you're right..." Theo turns his head so he can look at him, his cheek resting on the bed. "Do they know?"

"Know what?"

"About you...you know..."

Liam takes a moment to figure out what he's trying to say. "It's really not that hard to say it. Repeat after me: you have feelings for me, I have feelings for you. Romantic feelings. Gushy feelings."

Theo flips him off and he laughs.

"But to answer your question, yes, they know. Or at least Scott and Stiles know. Possibly Mason too, he's been kind of too helpful lately for it to just be a coincidence."

"Huh."

Liam pokes him on the cheeks, and watches as Theo goes cross eyed trying to look at his finger. "You're strange, you know." Despite everything and all the terrible things he did or tried to do, Theo's still just a kid like Liam, he snores a little bit when he sleeps, soft like a kitten, and his eyes drop when he's tired. One time, Liam saw him trip on the sidewalk and thought  _oh, he can be clumsy too_ , with a kind of breathless relief only Theo can really bring out of him. All these terribly mundane things about him that no one else would really notice, Liam's been cataloging them all in his mind. Bit by bit, he’s building Theo out of all these little pieces, and the best part about it all is that it’s never going to be complete, there’s always going to be something new to figure out about him. Liam can’t wait.

"You're strange too," Theo says, and the smile on his lips is the softest Liam's ever seen on him. It's crooked and a bit weird, like he never learned how to do it properly, but it's the prettiest thing in the world.

"We can both be strange, then."

Theo closes his eyes and links his fingers with Liam's. It's an unexpected gesture coming from him, and Liam has to bite his lip to keep from laughing in delight. "I like that."

Liam squeezes his hand, watching the lines of his face soften with sleep. "Yeah, I like it too." 

 

End. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i love these two so much, i just had to write something for them,, i wrote this fic in bits while i was in different moods so idk how good the flow is but i think it gets the point across anyway,, i might come back to edit it later tho  
> hope yall enjoyed it!!


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